Big B: Romancing the silver screen at 70!

By Hindustan Times

At 70, Amitabh Bachchan has romanced the silver screen for more than four decades. He has also successfully hosted six seasons of Kaun Banega Crorepati. This year, the megastar has also widened his social 'network' by joining Facebook. He also made India proud by carrying Olympic torch in London this year.

Come May 2013 and Big B would venture into Hollywood, albeit in a cameo appearance in Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby.

So what if his gamble of playing an underworld don turned politician in Ram Gopal Varma's Department (2011) did not pay off at the box office, his role of Prabhakar Anand in Aarakshan (2011) got him critical acclaim and moderate success. Be it Bbuddah... Hoga Terra Baap or Paa, roles are being exclusively written for the star.

Amitabh Bachchan got to experiment a lot in this second innings. Barring films like Mrityudata, Lal Badshah and Suryavansham, Big B seldom went wrong with the choice of films. In fact, fresh and experimental scripts are being written exclusively for him. And certainly that's not just because he has ruled Bollywood for more than four decades, it is because Amitabh with his boundless energy is raring to reinterpret himself as an actor with each film.

People who worshipped his larger-than-life image wouldn't have imagined that he'd enter their television sets through Kaun Banega Crorepati. But he did. And for everybody's surprise swayed everybody off their feet (including his critics) with his new avatar as a TV host.

Top 10 landmark movies
Zanjeer: Amitabh Bachchan was relaunched as angry young man of Bollywood with Prakash Mehra's Zanjeer. Inspector Vijay Khanna became the new youth icon.

Sholay: Considered to be one of the greatest films in Indian cinema, Sholay directed by Ramesh Sippy became memorable for every actor who featured in it, including Amitabh Bachchan.

Don: The actor played a double role in the film - one as Don and the other as Vijay. The film was later remade by Farhan Akhtar that featured Shah Rukh Khan.

Shehenshah: Amitabh made a comeback after a three year hiatus with this film.

Agneepath: The film portrayed Amitabh Bachchan in the legendary role of Vijay Dinanath Chauhan. The movie though not commercially successful was critically acclaimed. Amitabh Bachchan went on to win National Award for the film.

Baghban: The film had Amitabh and Hema Malini as a lead couple. The two exuded wonderful chemistry on screen. Needless to say it was a hit at the box office.

Black: Big B played the role of a teacher in the film. The movie directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali was critically acclaimed. It got Bachchan a National Award.

Bunty Aur Babli: Amitabh Bachchan plays a cop in this film, though not an angry one. In fact he shook his leg to Kajrare song with now daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai.

Sarkar: Directed by RGV, Amitabh played the title role in Sarkar. It also starred Abhishek Bachchan, Kay Kay Menon, Katrina Kaif, Anupam Kher, Supriya Pathak and Tanisha Mukherjee.

Paa: Amitabh Bachchan created history by playing son to his son Abhishek in the movie. The actor played a 12-year-old boy suffering from a rare genetic disorder called progeria. The film got him his third National Award.

Awards
1969: Best Newcomer National Film Award for Saat Hindustani
1971: Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for Anand
1973: Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for Namak Haraam
1976: Filmfare Best Actor Award for Amar Akbar Anthony
1978: Filmfare Best Actor Award for Don
1984: Padma Shri
1990: National Film Award for Best Actor for Agneepath
1990: Filmfare Best Actor Award for Hum
1991: Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award
2000: Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for Mohabbatein
2000: Superstar of the Millennium in 2000 at the Filmfare Awards
2001: Padma Bhushan
2004: Filmfare Best Actor Award & Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor for Black
Winner, National Film Award for Best Actor
2007: Knight of the Legion of Honour, by the French Government
2009: National Film Award for Best Actor for Paa

Quote Room
"I do not consider myself Hollywood material. My participation in The Great Gatsby is a friendly gesture for (director) Baz Luhrmann - it's less than a blink-and-miss appearance." - Hindustan Times

"OK!! HERE IT IS : Have been invited by London Olympic Organizing Committee to carry the torch in the relay tomorrow... Honored to be asked to carry the Olympic Torch in London at Southwark around 10:30 AM !! A proud moment for me and country." - Twitter

"I sometimes feel that I have been born to attract controversy. Whatever I do becomes controversial." - Sunday (1987)

"She (Aishwarya) is not like a friend but a friend. In fact she is my daughter and not daughter-in-law. If you are noticing us together on every occasion it's because situation demands so. Neither Aishwarya nor me are self-appointed detectives trailing each other." - Glamsham

"Marketing and promotional acts have introduced new business practices to get that first week’s full house, recover money, and move on. We remember even the interlude music of the songs from the ‘50s and ‘60s. We do not remember the songs of today’s films. Or maybe they do! Maybe the younger generations do! Maybe this generation registers what it chooses to, and moves on. Maybe we have gone irritably slow. This generation talks and thinks faster. My grandson of 8 teaches me how to install my BlackBerry and my iPad. Maybe I am the wrong person to be answering a question (on change). Who knows!" - Hindustan Times

"Professionally I have never ever attempted to change a single comma, once the script is with me and I have signed on the dotted line. That is beyond my professional ethics. I had no reason to doubt, being in the company of such great writers as Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Khawaja Ahmed Abbas, Salim-Javed, Prakash Mehra, Kadar Khan, Prayag Raj, Shukla, Gulzar and many other renowned personalities. What they wrote remained final. What I get today also remains final -- my professional conditions prevail." - Hindustan Times

"As for romancing nubile women on screen, I have no choice. I must play roles commensurate with my age. There have been exceptions. KANK (Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna) had me playing a happy, fun-loving lothario; Nishabd was about a disturbing relationship. Ironically, the only time I have been kissed on screen, note, I have been kissed, not of my own desire, has been in two films that I did in my 60-plus years – Black and Nishabd!" - Hindustan Times

On Kaun Banega Crorepati
"When we were just starting in 2000 and I had agreed to do the show, I never thought it would continue for 12 years. KBC has been a moving and extremely satisfying experience for me."

On granddaughter Aaradhya:
"She hasn’t started speaking yet but she pulls my beard. She knows that this man with beard is special. We adjust our timings according to her. I make sure I get enough time to play with her."

On plans for his 70th birthday (on October 11):
"You will have to ask the family about my birthday plans. But, I think they are planning something."